Guilford man killed, woman injured in tractor rollover in Atkinson

Jason Gourley, 42, a self-employed contractor, was pronounced dead on Range Road in Atkinson on Saturday morning after the tractor he was driving fell from these flatbed trucks and rolled down an embankment, police said.

ATKINSON, Maine — A 42-year-old Guilford man was killed and a Guilford woman was injured when a tractor rolled down an embankment and onto him before injuring her on Range Road on Saturday, police said Sunday.

Jason Gourley, 42, a self-employed contractor, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which was reported at 5:50 a.m., said Deputy Kyle Wilson of the Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Department.

Bobbie Williams, 41, was flown by LifeFlight helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center of Bangor, where she is listed in fair condition, Wilson said. He said he didn’t know the extent of her injuries.

The incident began when Gourley arrived at Range Road on the Dover-Foxcroft line to help his friend, fellow contractor Richard Williams, 43, of Guilford, move a large Case tractor from a flatbed trailer that had blown a tire, Wilson said.

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Gourley, who was driving the tractor, had begun to maneuver it onto the lip of a second flatbed when the tractor tipped over and went down the approximately 12-foot-wide embankment. The tractor rolled at least one full rotation before one of its tracks landed on Gourley, Wilson said.

The tractor, which was upright and still in gear, injured Bobbie Williams, Richard’s wife, when she went to assist Gourley, said Wilson.

“I don’t know what exactly happened because I wasn’t there,” Wilson said. “The tractor was moving and she got caught up in it. I think it backed up on her.”

EMMC officials did not immediately return a telephone message left Sunday morning.

No arrests are expected, Wilson said.

“It’s just a tragic accident,” Wilson said.

Richard Williams “is completely distraught. He lost his best friend. It’s just sad,” Wilson added.